Lake Wheeler Park

I had never been out to Lake Wheeler Park until this summer and I can’t wait to return.  For the most part, Lake Wheeler is similar to Lake Johnson except that it doesn’t have a paved trail surrounding it, but does have much more extensive boating, picnicking and playground areas.

Lake Wheeler Park is located at 6404 Lake Wheeler Rd in southwest Raleigh.  Upon entering the park, you’ll notice the 650 acre lake to the south.  As you meander through the park on the main road, there are several spots along the way to stop and fish or shelters for picnicking.  Continuing on you’ll pass large open fields with larger shelter areas and finally arrive at the large parking lot near the boat house.

We parked in the main parking lot and headed down to explore the boats and docks at the lake.  This particular day was extremely windy so the water was pretty void of any boaters.  We still managed to walk on the docks and talk about the different boats we saw (presumably for rent) – paddle boats, sunfish sailboats, kayaks, jon boats, etc.  For a complete list of boats for rent or launch visit the Lake Wheeler rental website.  You can also learn more about the depths of the lake (which get to 25ft in some spots) by visiting the information boards near the boat house.  Follow these guidelines for fishing in and on the bank of the lake.  Across from the boat ramps is the park’s very impressive boat storage area.  In addition to renting various boats and fishing, you can also take several boating classes offered at Lake Wheeler, which start back up in the spring.

Next we explored the boat house area, which consists of a large veranda (covered and uncovered) overlooking the water complete with picnic tables and rocking chairs, indoor rooms for classes and rental, a concession area, restrooms, and beautiful landscaping leading up to the playground area.  The veranda, indoor room and deck are all available for rent for special events.  Ashley especially loved sitting in the rocking chairs while we talked about the different things we saw near the water (ducks, boats, people, etc).

After visiting the boat house, we explored the nearby t-shaped dock, which offered some great photo ops.  It has several fish cleaning spots and is completely fenced in, making it a fun place to explore for toddlers (provided no one else is around trying to fish).

Next we headed back to the playground, where we spent most of our morning.  This is a great place for playing and then having a picnic, as there are several picnic tables and even a small shelter and charcoal grill in the vicinity.  The playground offers a few areas for early walkers to play on, but is mostly geared towards the more steady walkers.  There aren’t too many openings in the playground, making it easier for nervous moms to let toddlers run free in the playground.  The playground has big-kid swings and low swings for toddlers who can hold onto the chains, but no bucket tot swings.  It has a wood chip base and has several slides, tunnels, and ladders at different levels making it a fun and interesting place to play.

Finally, we made our way over to the large open field to “throw” our frisbee.  Being that we visited the park on the hottest day of the summer we didn’t last too much longer, but enjoyed a fun morning with lots to look at, talk about and explore!  I can’t wait to visit again and do some boating.

For more info about this park including boating, fishing and rental opportunities visit the City of Raleigh website.

Thumbs up: variety of boating activities, playground area, vicinity of picnic tables near playground, views from the boat house

Thumbs down: signage throughout the park

Visit to Nags Head & Roanoke Island

img_2019A few weeks ago we headed to Nags Head for our annual trip with friends for the Yuengling 5k Race. It’s my favorite trip we take every year and I love how we recounted old trips that weekend and were able to trace our first visit back to 2005. We’ve gone every year since except for a hiatus in 2009. Over the years the group has grown making it a lot of fun, but a few things remain the same: 8am race on Saturday followed by Yuengling beer truck, a trip through Brew Thru for CLs, orange crushes at Mulligans, time on the beach with the dogs, great local seafood, and hot tub time machine!

Here are a few pics of us on the beach on Saturday and just after the race:

Before we headed home on Mother’s Day Sunday, Bill and I explored Roanoke Island, home to over 400 years of amazing history.  We first drove through the small town of Wanchese and visited a local park, Ernest A “Pigum” Walker.  Then, we visited the other side of the island at Fort Raleigh and walked around the town of Manteo.  Roanoke Island is best known for being the place of the first English settlement and where the first child of English parents were born.  In addition, this was also the home to where escaped slaves lived during the Civil War.  The town of Manteo is a wonderful small town to visit with lots of great, local food, local breweries, and beautiful views of the sailboats on the water. I can’t wait to visit again and try the Full Moon Brewery, more local restaurants, a festival, and sailboat ride in Manteo and the Elizabethan Gardens near Fort Raleigh.

Thumbs up: large playground area, small shady spot under playground, history of Roanoke Island, shops and stores in Manteo, photo ops, views of the sailboats

Thumbs down: fire ants/mosquitoes at Walker Park, very slow service at Poor Richard’s sandwich shop in downtown Manteo